Legacy of the Chernobyl disaster

Thursday 2 July 2009 18.09 EDT
First published on Thursday 2 July 2009 18.09 EDT

Exposure to radiation in an incident like the 1986 Chernobyl disaster ruins the health of several generations of people, not just those who lived in the vicinity at the time.

"The effects of Chernobyl on human health will continue for many years to come in the form of anything from an abnormal limb to an extremely severe cancer," explained Dr Tony Nicholson, the vice-president of the Royal College of Radiologists and dean of its clinical radiology faculty.

Radiation damages men's sperm and women's eggs, meaning their children can be born with congenital defects such as a serious heart condition or brain abnormality. "Some of these defects will be fatal, others will require surgery to correct them and all will severely affect the child's quality of life," said Nicholson. Women exposed to radiation also have a much higher chance of miscarriage.

Radiation also produces cancer of the lymph glands and thyroid cancers. "Children in Ukraine are still suffering the effects of Chernobyl 23 years on," said Nicholson, "but if a child is born with cancer in Poland near the border with Ukraine, you can't be sure that [it] wasn't related to Chernobyl."

"None of those who survive exposure radiation have received a big enough dose to kill them. But many will suffer the effects of the radiation for the rest of their lives," added Nicholson. "And many who thought they had escaped unscathed or with minimal effects will be seeing the effects on their children now."